Author: Simon N Gamefunkel

The Grand Theft Auto video game series is one that I follow pretty closely. My initial exposure to the GTA franchise was in 1998, when a friend got a copy for Christmas. Knowing that my parents wouldn’t allow me to have a game with such ridiculous vulgarity made the games that much cooler. The GTA franchise has always given us endless side missions and ridiculous easter eggs to keep us entertained, GTA V is no exception.

In its second quarter 2014 earnings report today, Take-Two revealed that nearly 29 million copies of Grand Theft Auto V have been sold-in. While it’s worth noting that this figure refers to units sold-in to retailers (rather than games sold-through to consumers), Take-Two noted that the figure has already succeeded in “exceeding the lifetime sell-in of Grand Theft Auto IV on console in less than six weeks after launch.”

Microsoft is providing an early look at the company’s Xbox One dashboard and friends system today. Just as you’d expect, it provides access to a friends list and the ability to add over 1,000 friends. Xbox 360 friends will be automatically imported, but the Xbox One has a new follow option too to let gamers interact with other Xbox Live users. It’s similar to Twitter in the sense that you can simply follow anyone you want. Microsoft is separating out the privacy levels between friends and followers, allowing Xbox One owners to decide what information is shared to followers.

Every year we can count on a couple of things – new terrible pop songs, Christmas and a new Madden video game. Having grown up in the graphically-challenged 90s, sports video games have come a long, long ways. The games look better, are easier to control and every year have some cool added new features. Madden 25 released on August 27, just about when everyone is ready to spend 9 hours every Sunday watching football and beer commercials (GUILTY!).

Microsoft Corp. said it will expand its TV programming beyond the show based on its best-selling “Halo” game as it tries to position the new Xbox One console as a portal for games, videos and music.

Phil Spencer, corporate vice president at Microsoft Studios, declined to elaborate in an interview in Tokyo today before the Tokyo Game Show. Microsoft is returning to the show this year as it competes against Sony Corp. (6758)’s new PlayStation 4 console and online games in a $63 billion industry.

Marketing executive Yusuf Mehdi says company to release 100 games for aging console in the next three years.

Just because the Xbox One is Microsoft’s focus going forward does not mean the company is abandoning the Xbox 360 anytime soon. Microsoft chief marketing and strategy officer Yusuf Mehdi said this week that the platform will be supported through at least 2016.

“If you look at [Xbox 360], that platform lasted for seven to eight years and it’s going to go for another three years,” Mehdi said this week during the Citi Global Technology Conference. “It’s incredibly profitable now in the tail.”

Microsoft on Wednesday announced that the Xbox One will be available November 22, just a week after Sony unveils its competing game console, the PlayStation 4, in the U.S. On Thursday, a Microsoft executive told Reuters that the company has already sold out of the devices available for preorder.
Microsoft executive Yusuf Mehdi told Reuters that the device is in full production but that Microsoft still hasn’t been able to keep up with preorder demands from retailers. “We have more preorders than any other Xbox console releases in history,” Mehdi said.

When Microsoft announced the device’s launch date on Wednesday, the company also said in a statement that it would release “a limited number of additional Xbox One Day One consoles for pre-order,” though the company didn’t specify how many extra preorder devices there would be.

No amount of news about the Xbox One can compete with holding the console in your hands — thankfully, production is now in full swing for the planned November release. This was announced by Xbox Chief Marketing Officer Yusef Mehdi at the Citi Global Technology Conference, where he also revealed that the final product will have a slightly faster CPU than expected. Instead of the 1.6GHz processor we thought the console would have, it will be equipped with a 1.75GHz CPU.

Nintendo has pulled back the curtains on its plans for this fall, and despite the relatively late date they’ve managed to slip in a few surprises — not least of which is a new piece of hardware.

The Nintendo 2DS, as the name suggests, offers a new take on the 3DS. While it features a fully different form factor from the standard 3DS and XL (it discards the clamshell case for something that vaguely resembles an unholy union of a Game Boy, the Wii U GamePad, and a DS), the 2DS is functionally identical to its sibling. Every feature has carried across, including the touch screen, the relative sizes of the screens, the Circle Pad, the wireless functionality and software, and the 3D cameras. Despite the slate-style design, it even retains the system’s sleep function through a slider on the bottom edge that puts the device instantly into a low-power mode.

The PlayStation 4 is out in the US on November 15. The Xbox One? Well, it’s looking like it could hit the market a week ahead of its competitor.

While Microsoft is yet to officially announce the big day, and “release dates” on retailer sites are usually little more than window dressing, we’ve heard from someone a little closer to the launch that Microsoft is planning a November 8 release for its latest console.

The source, who works for a marketing company that handles signage and product placement for retail giant Walmart, passed along what they say is an email for a company conference call that lists all the midnight openings the chain has planned.

Sony confirms 1 million preorders for next-gen system, announces discounts for next-gen upgrades on big games

The PlayStation 4 will launch in North America November 15, with a European bow to follow on November 29. Sony confirmed the release dates today as part of its Gamescom press conference, adding that the system will roll out in a total of 32 countries this holiday season.

Before announcing the dates, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House also touted the company’s success in building anticipation for the system. To date, he said the PS4 has attracted more than 1 million preorders globally.

Female characters, interactive maps, canine sidekicks and a knuckle-biting intense mode dubbed “cranked” are among the new additions deploying to the multiplayer mode of the popular military first-person shooter franchise when “Ghosts” is released for both current and next-generation consoles Nov. 5.

“Call of Duty” publisher Activision Blizzard Inc. detailed the complex multiplayer mode, which includes 30 new weapons and more fluid movement, during a Wednesday showcase.

The hit indie title Minecraft has shown no signs slowing down as the Xbox 360 Edition has sold more than eight million units, according to developer 4J Studios. This version of the game had passed seven million units sold just one month ago.

“Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition has now sold over 8 MILLION copies !!!” Tweeted 4J Studios.

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition is the bestselling Xbox Live Arcade title by far. It is also one of the bestselling titles for the Xbox 360 ever. At E3 of this year Microsoft announced Minecraft: Xbox One Edition.

Microsoft has detailed a new Xbox Live Gold privilege-sharing feature for Xbox One.

Called ‘Home Gold’, it lets an Xbox Live Gold account holder share their Gold status with multiple other Live accounts on a single Xbox One.

This includes access to multiplayer gaming, Game DVR, SmartMatch and entertainment apps including Skype and Internet Explorer.

The system will allow you to designate your ‘Home’ Xbox One with universal Gold privileges, allowing any Xbox Live account accessed through that console to benefit from your Gold status even if you’re logged out.

Microsoft keeps looking for ways to make its Xbox One more appealing to the gaming community.

This week, Microsoft said that the Xbox One will enable individuals to self publish games on the new console, out this fall.

There are also rules that get in the way of effectively turning the Xbox 360 into a key platform for indie gamemakers: While self-publishing is possible, the Xbox 360 only enables individuals to make their titles available through Xbox Live’s little seen “indies” section and requires a Microsoft-certified publisher to distribute the titles elsewhere.

According to GamesIndustry International, Sebastian said that ”Despite losing the headline battle at E3, Microsoft’s Xbox One appears to be regaining some momentum, in part due to the used and online policy tweaks. Importantly, our supply chain checks suggest Microsoft may have the benefit of a 2-3x unit advantage at launch compared to Sony SNE +1.86%‘s PS4.”

The price gap won’t matter much at launch, Sebastian points out, since early adopters aren’t as motivated by price concerns so much as they’re drawn in by platform of choice.